There are simple things we could do in our WordPress sites which would make our website accessibility. WordPress is designed with accessibility in mind. We just need to utilize those resources.

  • ALT Tags/Text

One thing we should always remember to do is to put in an ALT Tag/Text. An Alt Tag is used for images we place on our websites. I have seen very few websites on WA which have an ALT Tag/Text. When you are inserting "media" into your WordPress website, that meaning, an image, you will be given options to enter specific parameters which will enable someone using a screen reader.

Screen readers can read text, but they cannot "read" an image. However, if there is an ALT Tag/Text attached to the image, the screen reader will read that text within the ALT Tag/Text so the user can understand what the image is representing and how it related to the textual content. Individuals who are blind for instance will use a screen reader. When you are in your WordPress admin area, you will see the following on your right hand side.

You can enter text in the area called "Alt text" and when a screen reader scans over your image, your text will be read to the individual who is unable to view your image.

  • Avoid Color-Coding Text

Sometimes when developing text, we will use color-coding to emphasize something. Have you seen shopping cart websites which indicate the "sales items are shown in red"? How is someone who is color bind and cannot read "red text" going to be able to indicate what items are on sale that day/week/month? If you need or want to use color-coding within your content, be sure to add another element such as an asterisk or put the word "sale" next to the item.

It does not just stop with using color-coded text. It also affects your background color and text color you use on your website. You can also use the Accessibility Color Wheel link below to text the color of your text with background color to determine if your website confirms to accessibility. The way it works is it tests your website against three different types of color blindness.




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solidbase Premium
Stephanie,
As a half blind person myself, I want to thank you for this post.
It is testimony of your sincerity and empathy with disabled people.
Thank you !!
-Theuns
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stephhill Premium Plus
Hi Theuns!

As far as my empathy and sincerity with disabled people, I have ADHD myself and my son has Asperger's Syndrome and my father was blind in one eye and I worked for in the field of special education for many years, so I tend to always think of those with different needs.

Steph
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solidbase Premium
Sorry to hear about your own problems.
We will hold hands and walk the road together.
Stay safe.
-Theuns
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BasW Premium
Thank you for the information. Now I realize why the alt text is so important. And what a nice thing this colorwheel is, I realize this could be useful for other presentations like from Powerpoint.
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stephhill Premium Plus
Hi Bas!

Oh Absolutely! There is a whole thing on how to make your PPT accessible as well. Many people with color blindness cannot see colors the way others do.

I just scratched the surface with the training. There is much more I plan on creating training on.

Steph
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kannchia Premium
Thanks for reminding us.
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stephhill Premium Plus
Awww. You bet!
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RaphyAbano Premium
Hey Steph, nice article on accessibility. I'm with you on this one, and it's definitely something I've encountered at my work (I do e-learning courses) - although I know I should be doing this to my own niche site.

I'd like to share a couple of things I learned as well in my attempts to adhere to both Section 508 and WCAG Compliance:

- Most browsers (and operating systems) carry a "focus box" function which can be enabled using the Tab Key. This will either appear as a bright colored box or as a thin, broken line. Screen readers will recognize this as the viewer's "focal point", and will read out any text on screen or alt-text that has been included in any image.

- I'm sure this isn't applicable to our sites, but as much as possible, avoid any "drag-and-drop" functions on sites as accessibility tools do not provide any means of emulating this.

- Animated content is challenging to view when it comes to accessibility. As much as possible, keep content static, but if it is needed, ensure that there is an alt-text implemented.

- If you're using video, be sure to check if the media you're using has a separate channel for "described audio" as well as an option for closed captioning. This way you are able to accommodate users with your rich media content.

These are just some of the ones I've come to learn about, and so I felt that it should be shared to everyone here. Hope it helps!

- Raphy
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stephhill Premium Plus
Hi Raphy!

Those are all awesome points too when considering accessibility and I cannot thank you enough for adding to the discussion on it. As I mentioned in the training and earlier in these comments, I only scratched the surface when it comes to creating accessible content for our websites and images. I appreciate all of those added tools. I sometimes have cautioned folks about using the drag and drop because of the reason you stated above.

You are fabulous for providing these added suggestions when taking into the consideration individuals with varying abilities.

Steph
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RaphyAbano Premium
Thanks Steph, I'm glad to help any way I can. Thanks as well for bringing this up.

Accessibility is definitely something that can be tricky to pull off, yet the important thing is to have it in mind during any part of web development. There's no umbrella solution for all disabilities as there are plenty of known and unknown ones out there, and each of them have different needs. But the best we can do is to accommodate them as best as possible with the tools that we have.

Best,
Raphy
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stephhill Premium Plus
Hi Raphy!

Well said. It is impossible to cover all the bases for all types of disabilities like you said, but as long as we are making a good faith effort to accommodate those that we can, we are a million steps ahead of so many other web developers out there.

Steph
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edtay78 Premium
Thanks for sharing. Good information and will keep in mind the few pointers you mentioned here. :)
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stephhill Premium Plus
Hi Edmund!

Thank you for visiting and reading my training. Keep in touch! :)

Steph
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